Those banned by Facebook include the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, notorious for making inflammatory anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars was long banned by Facebook since 2018 under rules against bullying and hate speech. In February of this year, the company removed another 22 pages associated with Alex Jones and all his businesses.

Other people banned by the Tech giant include Paul Nehlen, an anti-Semite who unsuccessfully ran for U.S Congress in 2016 and 2018, and fringe right-wing media personalities – Laura Loomer, Milo Yiannopoulos and Paul Joseph Watson.

Paul Nehlen is reportedly a white supremacist politician who had previously been banned from Twitter. Milo Yiannopoulos is a far-right provocateur who was also blocked by Twitter after inspiring a wave of racist abuse. Laura Loomer is a far-right activist who recently called Islam “a cancer on humanity” on her Instagram story.

According to CNN Business, a Facebook spokesperson said:

“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” “The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.”

Facebook did not provide details of all the incidents that caused the ban. Facebook said they made the decisions following a period of review. The group’s behavior both on and offline were considered before the decision, Facebook said.

If you attempt to search their names, below is the type of screen you will see on the pages of those banned.